Profound Congratulations...

...to Jewel.

The Easter Vigil: I have at last crossed the Tiber

 

The oil of peace and certainty has now mingled well with the chrism of joy. It is one of the best fragrances you can ever smell.  It’s past 1:30 in the morning, and the perfume is still wafting through my nose.

Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ was my First Supper.

I cannot find the words right now to describe how I am feeling.

Easter blessings and joy to you all on this Day of Christ’s Resurrection.

The die is cast!

This Should...

...pretty much wipe out all of my Lenten points.

The Hits...

...Just Keep On Comin'

Sometime in early January, I took a fall off the bottom of the steps between my parking space and the yard.  It was dark, I was tired and grumpy, fussing with my backpack and a package all at the same time I was descending said stairs.  Scuffed up my left knee pretty well, and twised my right ankle enough so that I had to hobble a bit into the house.  All in all, not a major deal.  So I thought.

That night, the whole right foot, from the ankle to the sole was a throbbing, painful ache.  I had visions of a visit to a podiatrist the next day, or at least setting up an appointment with one.  Didn't get to sleep until after 4 am.  And yet, then next morning, the foot was just fine.  No indication that it had ever been so insomnia producingly painful.

And then I started to notice a bit of a 'blinch' when I moved in just the right way.  (Blinch, n., a sudden jolt of electric-like pain down a nerve path, coupled with a desire to unload the blinched appendage as quickly as possible.  See also, "Doctor, it hurts when I do that... .")  I figured I'd go see Dr. Fritz when I was a bit more solvent that I was at the time.  He is a chiropractor I met in one of my classes at the library.  As big a bear, if not bigger, than I am.

And so it went, until Saturday before last, when the lower back took an express hand basket to hell, taking my ability to stand upright and walk normally with it.  Fortunately, I was able to get in to see Dr. Fritz last Monday.  The plan was 3 visits per week for two weeks, the re-evaluate.  Which was going along fine until I mentioned that I noticed my left foot "dropping".  He asked me to stand on tip-toes, then on my heels.  I went 1 and 0.  I don't remember the medical terms, but I have no roll or yaw control, and only downward pitch control in my left foot.  No heel-walking.

Dr. Fritz' take is that I have a disk impinging on my spinal cord, causing the weakness in my left leg and foot.  Based on where I told him the ice pick was being stuck in my left shin, he said the impingement was at the L-5 vertebra.  And that I needed to get my M.D. to evaluate it, pronto.  (My word, not Dr. Fritz'.)   The "pronto" part is to get it treated before the damage becomes permanent.  Which could involve diapers.  The evaluation probably means another MRI.  Which I can't afford.

Meanwhile, entropy is slowly taking over the house, as I have little energy for hauling stuff up and down stairs.  I haven't walked the dogs since a week ago Thursday.  I did make use of Sam's "click and pull", so my groceries were waiting for my at the customer service counter.  And I used a cart as a walker when I went through Wal-Mart.

So, prayer in any denomination is welcome and solicited.  I don't know what I'll do if I'm unable to navigate this three story house and, more importantly, walk the dogs.

Interesting.

(Posted over at the Red Lion blog, too.)

Memory Check

Found this in my in-box this AM.  My cousin in Montana is retired, too, and likes to pass this kind of stuff along.

This is a test for us 'older kids'!

The answers are below the fold, but don't cheat.

Comment to let me know how you did

01. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset,the grateful citizens would ask, Who was that masked man?  Invariably,someone would answer, I don't know, but he left this behind.

What did he leave behind?________________.

02. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. In early 1964, we allwatched them on The ____ ___________ Show.

03. 'Get your kicks, __ _________ _______.'

04. 'The story you are about to see is true.The names have been changed to ___________________.'

05. 'In the jungle, the mighty jungle, ________________.'

06. After the Twist, The Mashed Potato, and the Watusi, we 'danced'under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance called the '_____________.'

07. Nestle's makes the very best . .. . . _______________.'

08. Satchmo was America 's 'Ambassador of Goodwill.'

Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us.

His name was _________________.

09. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking? _______________.

10. Red Skeleton's hobo character was named __________________

and Red always ended his television show by saying,

'Good Night, and '________ ________... '

11. Some Americans who protested the Vietnam War

did so by burning their______________.

12. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the

trunk in the front was called the VW. What other names

did it go by? ____________ &_______________.

13. In 1971, singer Don MacLean sang a song about,

'the day the music died.' This was a tribute to ___________________.

14. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit.

The Russians did it. It was called ___________________.

15. One of the big fads of the late 50's and 60's was a large

plastic ring that we twirled around our waist.

It was called the __________  ______________.

16. Remember LS/MFT _____ _____/_____ _____ _____?

17. Hey Kids! What time is it? It's _____ ______ _____!

18. Who knows what secrets lie in the hearts of men?

The _____ Knows!

19. There was a song that came out in the 60's that was

"a grave yard smash". It's name was the ______ ______!

20. Alka Seltzer used a "boy with a tablet on his head"

as it's Logo/Representative. What was the boys name? _____ __________!

(I missed the name of Red Skelton's  clown character, and the Don McLean question)

Classic Movie...

...revisited!

(Brought to you by Power Line!)